Project Guardian Mew Mew
by Madison Proctor
Summary: Earth is conquered and the Cyniclonians are getting rid of the last of human kind.  Ichigo is safe, if only by Kish's promise to destroy the last of the Mew Mews in exchange for her life.  Now the others must find a way to bring Ichigo back to power.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **

**Hey guys. This is my first official story by myself on this site so yeah. Not mine btw. All rights belong to whoever it belongs to. Doing this for fun. Yeah I'm not that interesting...lmao**

**Also- for all those who are like really in-love with the MasayaxIchigo coupling will be very very disappointed. I find Masaya much more interesting as an antagonist. And Kish was...a lot more awesome in my opinion. You don't have to like it but it most likely won't change...so yeah. Enjoy the Apocalyptic version of Tokyo Mew Mew lmao!**

**

* * *

**

**Project: Guardian Mew Mew **

**Earth 2010**

The corridors of the castle were quiet and only Kish's soft footsteps could be heard echoing off the marble walls. He tried to mentally prepare himself for his imminent execution. He had been on edge with his lord as of late, but there was no reason for this. Project Mew Mew had been broken and there was nothing left to stop Deep Blue from making his dream of the perfect world from coming true.

The wind swept through the open balcony corridor and he shivered automatically. He wasn't sure if it was from the actual cold or the thought of facing his master. He pushed his straight dark green hair out of his face and readjusted it into a long ponytail in hopes to look a little more presentable. He quickly glanced over the view of what was now called Aryk, former Tokyo. Forests had begun to spring where great towers had once been. Only those of his race walked the broken down roads. He couldn't say it wasn't beautiful but it was terribly lonely at the same time to see what had become of Earth.

"Soldier!" the guard bellowed harshly.

"Sir," Kish chuckled sheepishly as he bowed. He wasn't exactly in favor with the Cyniclonians. His stand for Ichigo had caused him to fall in rank as low he could go, but he had traded all that glory for her life…that was enough for him.

"You're late again. Our lord is not pleased," he looked down on him impatiently.

Kish glanced away, his golden-brown eyes flashed with regret. "Well I'm here…"

"Let him through," an ominous voice echoed from the room inside. Kish couldn't suppress another tremble at the sound of his king's cruel voice. He knew he wouldn't be able to bargain much longer.

Slowly the massive doors creaked open and the tiny man stepped quietly inside. The throne room was lined with guards on each row leading up to their king. Blue banners draped from the ceilings and expensive human material was hammered into the furniture and walls a faint reminder of what this world use to be. At the center Deep Blue sat high as he glared at Kish coldly. His long black hair was fashioned regally in Cyniclonian style. His ice blue eyes seemed to pierce through him that froze him where he stood.

"Come," Deep Blue commanded and motioned with one quick sweeping movement of his elongated arms. He had grown in the short time he was King and easily stood taller than Kish now by a foot, not that Kish was very tall to begin with. Still…his power had grown as well. All was a blunt reminder that if he wasn't careful he would join the slaughter lines with the rest of the remaining rebels.

Timidly Kish obeyed, treading quietly down the walkway up to the steps of his throne. Judging eyes daggered him from every corner, but he had to focus if he wanted to live. Bowing lowly he murmured, "Milord."

"I am not pleased Kish. Do you know why?"

Kish flinched at the smooth way he said his words. His assignment for the last few years was to find and destroy what remained of Project Tokyo Mew Mew along with any rebel troops he had seen along the way. Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, and Zakuro were all hiding somewhere in the few human bases, but…He was unable to produce neither the girls nor a victory. But he was still key officer in the initial invasion. Hopefully that would be enough to keep him and his love alive…but if he failed again, he would be considered a traitor to his people.

He bowed even lower. "I'm sorry milord. I swear it shall not happen again."

"That was more effective the first time you said it…I need results," The High King stated with a slight growl.

"I'll give you my honor, my word-anything! I will find and destroy Project Tokyo Mew Mew!" Kish promised bowing as low as he could do. His heart pounded in fear. If there was a better way to show his deepest respect he'd fall even farther but he kneeled there trembling. He just needed one more chance to regain the trust in the king. Only then could they be safe.

"Your honor? Your word?" the King scoffed in disbelief. "That means nothing to me anymore!" His anger rose at his words, but was soon calmed at a faint reminder. Kish was talented at his work. There was no denying that. A cruel smile curled to his lips. Encouragement…that's what this foolish soldier needed. "But…there is something that means much to you…is there not?"

Kish's heart jolted and he looked up suddenly. He knew there was a possibility but he never thought he had fallen so far from the king's favor. "Not Ichigo. You promised, sire!"

"And you have promised me!" Deep Blue sneered rising from his throne. The action caused Kish to push his nose to the floor and every Cyniclonian followed him to their knees. "I do not understand your fascination with this human, Kish, but was I not kind to see past this and give her to you?"

"It was, sire!" Kish barked louder than he meant.

"And what was the price for her life?" Deep Blue questioned.

There was silence and Kish gulped down nervous jitters. "That I would aid your cause and…rid Aryk of the abomination of humans and…Project Mew Mew."

"And you have yet to do that," he concluded. With a furious grunt he sat back down. It was not like him to lose his temper. But he could not show anger. It was not the Cyniclonian way. "If you do not hold up your end of the bargain I have no need to hold up mine. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sire," Kish immediately replied. One chance, he told himself. He only had one chance left. "I'll see it done."

And with that understood, he was dismissed.

* * *

**Hur Hur Hur Yay...**

**Critiques welcome but Flamers unnecessary. Thanks for reading.**

**EDIT;LMAO When I was first writing this I forgot to put in Berry. But then I realized that I forgot a girl (since that series wasn't that memorable in my opinion. Only two books? COME ON!). And then I realized in the wee hours of last night that Berry didn't come in til the second series and so I have to take her our again. Apologies Apologies.**

**(And btw I do love this series. Just not a fan of Masaya...We can argue about that later lol)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey it's Madin. Sorry for the late update. A lot of shit happened. (Concussion, broken car, etc.) But none of that is really important. I'm not gonna be able to update as regularly as I want especially if I land this job I've been needing but I hope. Anyways I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Sure hope I can keep this up. Meh  
**

**I feel so fricking manly with my lovely magical girl fanfiction lmao. **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"You need to shut it down, Ryou!"

A transparent warning sign blinked over the computer screen as information rushed down in a pulse that no one could read. The four remaining Mew Mew girls were asleep in the mechanical pods surrounding the main computer. Endless wires were interspersed between the pods and the computer as they fed information to each other. Two tall men were frantically running from the computers and back to the pods as they desperately tried to figure out what was wrong.

"I can't just shut it down," the blond man shouted back. He was wearing a standard issue Cynis uniform, the Cyniclons name for humans. With a grunt he shoved his thick black plastic glasses back up the bridge of his nose. His eyes had grown quite weak from 9 years of just sitting in front of computer monitors and paperwork. "If we rush it, I might not be able back online."

"Then what do we do?" When Keiichiro's café was shut down by the opposing Cyniclonian reign he was forced to team back up with Ryou and try to keep afloat what was left of Project Mew Mew, which was easier said than done. Though Keiichiro's expertise remained in cooking and charming, Ryou had to admit he needed all the help he could get.

"Keep adjusting their vitals and keep them as stable as you can. I need to bring them out of it individually or the program will override and we'll lose power and their minds will be trapped inside."

Keiichiro nodded and immediately began checking the buttons one by one. Though he wasn't sure what he was doing he knew the blue buttons had to stay blue and the yellow and red blinking buttons needed to be blue…or green. Keiichiro bit his lip in frustration, and punched in the sequenced buttons he was drilled over and over again. He prayed that he wouldn't accidentally kill one of them in the process.

When Deep Blue broke Ichigo's power, it started a chain reaction. Their own power had begun eating away at their vitality and became a poison to them. Each transformation threatened death. Ryou had spent the last few years trying to detox the mew mews. It was impossible to remove it completely as it was now hard-wired into their DNA. Still Ryou discovered if he removed the excesses he could prolong their lives. The only problem was this technology was all but completely outlawed. It was hard to get enough energy to run the programs they needed without raising attention from the authorities, thus the constant power failures.

"Mint is coming back online," Ryou shouted. His fingers were moving lightning fast. They were cramped considerably but he had no time to care. Quickly he locked on to the next girls. "Hurry, I got Lettuce and Pudding online as well."

Keiichiro rushed around pressing the necessary buttons on each pod and then turned Ryou. "They're stabilized."

He listened as Ryou continued to type the input furiously. "Damn," he cursed suddenly hitting the dashboard. "Zakuro's fighting it!"

"What do I do?" Kei asked quickly. He rushed to her pod, and could see her resting body beginning to twitch in agitation. Her lips were turning blue with as the fluid that was being pumped inside her. If Ryou didn't act quickly she would slip into a permanent coma, her mind lost to them forever.

"Force her conscious mind back into stasis. I can't bring her online if she's panicking."

Keiichiro tried his best. Zakuro's body began to convulse with anxiety. Her mouth tried to form words, but she could only gurgle as the fluid gathered in her throat. He immediately pulled the emergency lever. Mist filled the tubes and descended into the pod and after a few seconds Zakuro's body became lifeless.

"It's done," he gasped in relief.

At command, Ryou pushed the emergency exit button and a loud hiss filled the air as the pods began to open to let the girls out of stasis sleep. The red blinking emergency lights dimmed and the main computer began to show signs of normality. A female computer punctually prompted him. "Project Mew Mew online. Operation Detox aborted. Awaiting further instruction."

Ryou sighed deeply. It was done. The project was safe…for now, but he would hear and earful from the girls and the doctors they were going to have to visit after this. He was already getting a reputation in the community for being 'negligent to the girl's health.' As the girls' personal caregiver, no one knew that more than he. "Awaken Project Mew Mew."

"Are you sure, director? Project Mew Mew's detoxification levels are only at 28%. It would be advisable to have Project Mew Mew re-enter stasis and complete the detoxification program."

"Negative. Power is insufficient to continue. Awaken Project Mew Mew," Ryou told the computer.

"Command accepted. Awakening Project Mew Mew."

The tubes that kept them in a hypnotic sleep began draining from their veins. Keiichiro promptly began removing the needles from the girls' arms so that they would begin to wake up on their own. He made sure to give extra care to Zakuro, examining her body for any internal bleeding, but it seemed that shock was her biggest injury during the process.

Ryou looked at the girls guiltily. One way or another he would be the cause of their deaths if nothing else was.

"Ryou?" Lettuce said weakly as she groggily began waking up. The other girls began to stir slightly, beginning with Mint and ending with Zakuro, who glared daggers at Ryou as soon as she was awake enough to think. They all blinked at the new blurry world. Lettuce surprisingly coped a lot better with the changes than the other girls, but it didn't make her fare much better. All of their natural bodies, though strong, were kept in a fragile state. The green-haired girl looked down at her chest. The injection mark had barely faded. Frightened tears filled her eyes. The more that cursed mark lay engraved in their skin, the closer they would be towards their imminent deaths.

Suddenly the power went out and the girls screamed instinctively. "Damn!" Ryou cursed again. They had used up their rationed energy for the week. Mint's annoyed voice could be overheard from the crowd.

"What happened?" she demanded.

Keiichiro took out a lighter out of his pocket and began rummaging through the drawers for candles, which he then began placing at random lab tables. He frowned a second, saying, "We underestimated the power again, girls. We had to shut it down early."

"I don't feel any different," Pudding murmured. That was an understatement. Nothing had changed except for the effects of the drowsiness that they had been feeling from the drugs they were given.

"I'm afraid we were not able to complete the process. You still contain most of the excesses, so please refrain from transforming until we can continue the process," Keiichiro nodded to all the girls as he handed each of them a candle. Their faces looked solemn in the candlelight but they continued to look expectantly at Ryou.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Lettuce mumbled.

"It's…hard to say," Ryou answered. They know they had to keep hope at times like these, but the odds weren't exactly in their favor.

"What's the point?" Zakuro muttered in the darkness.

"What?" Pudding cried out angrily. "Zakuro! How could you say that?"

"They don't want our help anyways. Even humans have turned against Project Tokyo Mew Mew. We should just stay a memory, for everybody's sake." Her voice seemed to be filled with poison but they all knew she was fighting tears. It was true. The Cyniclons had put so much fear on the public that no one would even associate with them anymore. Just saying their name could be punishable by death.

Ryou frowned at Zakuro. "It's only because people are scared. That's no reason to give up hope." He knew how much it meant to be a Mew Mew to all of them, and how devastating it was to have that taken away from her. He couldn't imagine the pain and frustration he had put her through in the name of saving their race…though they were far from doing so at the moment. "Have faith, girls. We'll fix this."

"You know, Ryou…I'm getting really sick of your 'just believe and we'll make it crap.'"

"Leave him alone, Zakuro! He's trying his best! We all are!" Pudding argued.

"Well sometimes that's not good enough!" Zakuro snapped. Angry tears filled her eyes and she looked away, unable to keep her gaze with her fellow mates.

"Not to agree with the pessimist here," Mint said as she began to examine her manicured nails, "but what is it about this time that makes it any different from anything else we've tried?" Nothing was quite the same when the world was ruled by environmentally friendly aliens. Cell phones, internet, shopping, everything about Earth that she loved was now banned. And they had to wear the same dreary outfits every single day just like everybody else. Uniformity was definitely something that she wished that these damn aliens would get over.

Ryou bit back his temper. He was saving the information for a different time, but he knew that they deserved to know. With a deep sigh, he said, "Sit down girls. I'm going to need your attention for this one."

Soon Keiichiro had lit up the room with so many candles that it almost was as bright as with the lights on, if not so much warmer. Power outages were not a rare event so they had ended up acquiring quite a collection.

Ryou sighed deeply, unsure of how to begin. "As you know, it's been 9 frustrating long years since the Cyniclons have taken over. We've all lost much, but through all these years we've survived."

Barely," Zakuro muttered.

"It is my apologies that I was not a capable leader in Ichigo's absence, but what's done is done. We must survive…and despite what some of you might think, we're not through quite yet." The girls muttered amongst themselves unsure what to think of the news, but they were only allowed to voice their thoughts briefly before Ryou reigned them back in. "I've been preparing Project Mew Mew for our last assignment, but…I need your full cooperation."

Ryou took a deep breath gazing at all their worried candle-lit faces. He had put them through so much pain over the years. It was almost cruel to ask any more of them. "I just want to remind you all that you can walk away at any time…And I'll give you any treatments at my disposal as long as I am able to…" The girls looked at each other unsure of what to think. The one think they had learned about Ryou was that he was manipulative and blind to their cause. He would sacrifice himself or these girls to save their race in a heartbeat. By the way his face was darkening them was something serious. "I know…I never asked you to do this job for us-"

"We know, Ryou," Lettuce answered for all of them. "And no matter what you need us to do, we're prepared for it." And for the most part it was true. Since the fall of their race, they've over gone countless experiments and have prepared themselves for death 100 times over. Though sometimes few of them would question his methods of executing their plans, the world had turned against them…and as hopeless as it seemed they needed to find a way to get it back.

Ryou chuckled heartlessly at Lettuce. They were all full-grown women now and not the children he had first trained. Even timid Lettuce had been hardened in this time of war. "You have too much faith in my abilities," Ryou admitted as he pushed up his thick glasses. He left them for a moment to rummage under the study desks, careful not to knock over any of the candles that were burning on top. After a few moments, he pulled out a heavy box. Keiichiro immediately helped him carefully set it in front of the girls. With a grunt they opened it, to reveal to all the girls a box almost filled with power cells.

"Ryou," Mint gasped. "We could power the house for a year!"

"Not quite," Ryou chuckled. "I've been gathering these for a better half of the last six months. I've been trading off extra food, parts, certain…personal items from a few of you…" he paused a bit as they gasped in shocked anger. "It was a long hard process, but I've acquired almost 50. You see about 25 here. 23 more are stored away somewhere else in the room."

"What's all this for?" Pudding asked, tempted to grasp at one of the pretty green glowing cells. Ryou covered the box before Pudding could get the chance.

Quickly Keiichiro scuffled for the diagrams for Ryou's plans and laid them out on top of the box for the girls to gaze on. They were all in notations that the girls couldn't understand but it was obvious that Ryou put a lot of thought put into this.

"As you know at the beginning of Project Mew Mew you were all infused with the essence of an endangered animal. The Project itself was a success but I failed to see the true strength of the Cyniclons…But you have all used the raw energy to train your bodies to be impervious to most their attacks. You're now stronger than any man on this Earth…too strong for your own powers. I believe you're ready for some…enhancements."

They gazed at Ryou more dumbfounded than before. Was what he suggesting even possible? They couldn't quite understand the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Allow me to explain," Ryou said pointing at the diagrams. "Each of you developed an affinity for each of the elements when you transformed. All I am asking is to simply enhance those powers of the animal with that of an element. It will take a lot of power and some serious time genetically modifying your bodies, but…I think this will be what it takes to finally beat them."

"Can that be done?" Zakuro murmured.

"Of course. It would be the same concept as your first injection and they shall all correspond with the animal's founded characteristics. Lettuce will be given water, Mint air, Pudding fire and you will be given earth, Zakuro," Ryou explained calmly.

The girls began buzzing with this new idea of this newfound power that they would soon get. Ryou held up his hand to silence the girls. "The problem is that Ichigo…was heart…And the gluing element of everyone's power…" The girls were silent understanding the dilemma.

"You know we have no idea where to even start looking for Ichigo," Mint said bitterly.

"We're not going to find Ichigo…At least not yet," Ryou told them.

Abandon Ichigo? Was it possible? The thought had never crossed their minds and yet… "What…are you saying Ryou?" Lettuce asked timidly.

"It only works with 5…We've tried it-together- but without the holding element that bonds the power together we're just playing with a time-bomb with no fuse. You'll just hurt yourselves without the right control…" He took a deep breath, readying for the angry outcry. "And so your next assignment is to find the soul Mew Mew."

"No, Ryou!" Pudding cried. "We can't replace Ichigo. We can't!"

"Well we can't just sit around and wait to die. Retrieving Ichigo is our next priority, but the survival of our race comes first." The girls were silenced by Ryou's strict tone. He used it very seldomly and they knew better than to try to argue with him. "Once you find the soul Mew Mew, we'll need to move ourselves to a location where we can use all 50 power cells without attracting unwanted attention. I have already made arrangements to visit Tarak in 2 weeks' time. I expect you to produce a subject to infuse, willing or not. Am I understood?"

They weren't the bad guys, or so they thought, but asking someone to join their doom was the cruelest thing that Ryou had ever asked of them. It was a tough decision to make, but the girls knew that to survive they would all have to make their sacrifices. "Understood," they all said in unison before heading out into the night.

* * *

Lovely pink eyes gazed at a barred window. The birds were twittering in the forests and filled their small furnished shack with lovely sounds of the day. It was peaceful living in Aryk and though it took a while to adjust to the Cyniclon's way she had found that they were very peaceful people, and had treated her and her strange family with the utmost kindness, despite them being enemies. She still had to be kept under close watch because of Deep Blue's orders, but she had come to know the guards and those around her and found she hardly noticed that she was being held captive at all.

She was humming a tuneless melody as she began fixing breakfast for herself and her son, unaware that golden eyes were watching her until she felt warm loving arms surround her in an embrace. A soft voice whispered sweetly, "Morning, hon."

"Kish." Ichigo gasped excitedly, her heart filled with relief. He had made it home safe. She turned around to receive a soft welcoming kiss. With a breathless gasp she said, "I didn't hear you come in."

He chuckled lightly; glad to be able to hold her close again. "Well my first question was going to be what was the door doing lying on the ground. Did Tot have a temper tantrum?"

"You know Tot only acts up when your home," Ichigo frowned as she had Kish sit down at their small dining room table. She immediately went back to work fixing him a bit of breakfast and tea as she prattled on about her mundane days. "We had a small typhoon last week, but Karin was kind enough to provide extra blankets for Tot and me. Micah promised to come bad sometime today to fix some of the windows and the door…and hopefully he can get to the roof before the storms start rolling in again."

Kish frowned looking around looking around at the home he had provided them. This was what he imagined for his family, and was ashamed to put his name to the place, but it was difficult to provide more with the pay he was entitled. But once the Mew Mews were eliminated, he would be allowed so many possibilities. "I'll do better. You just need to give me more time. I promise I'll give you a better life."

"I'd rather you stay home and get a job in the community. It's hard being by myself and Tot needs his father," Ichigo spat back. She hated when he said that. It meant that he was disappearing again.

"I would if I could, honey, but you know that I can't do that. I have a duty to our king."

"Your king," Ichigo reminded him.

"You know I want to stay…"

"But you won't." Her eyes were filled with frightened tears. Though she was forced into this unfamiliar world, she had come to love this man and the world that he lived in. She could feel her cat ears beginning to pop out in her frustration. That was all that was left of her power after Deep Blue was though with her, but even though he had broken her and her heart belonged to a man that was bent on destroying her race, she was still a Mew Mew…or at least that was what she told herself.

"Darling," Kish said as he held Ichigo's tender face in his hands. It was hard to console her when she got like this. She would sometimes do something foolish that would anger his lord and make his job even harder but he could not lose her under any circumstance. "Soon," he promised.

Ichigo looked down guiltily. She knew he was trying. He worked so hard for her and their son. But she felt so helpless, torn between the two worlds she loved. No matter what because of what she was, she couldn't help him. "When do you leave again?"

"I am allowed to stay for a week to ready myself for the journey," Kish replied. He caressed her cat ears lightly. He loved the way they flattened at his touch. Tears filled her eyes as she pressed her cheek to his hand. He leaned down again to kiss her, but she stopped him with a finger.

"At this were still enemies," she told him. "I can't change what I am to fit into your world."

She still glared at him with the same defiant eyes like when he first met her so long ago. With a chuckle he kissed her forcefully, loving the way she still tried to run from his touch, but her refusal was different now. It wasn't from revulsion, but from the same forbidden want that he had felt for so long. Though this woman was only human, he knew from the moment he met her that he would love no other. And though he didn't want to break her heart, he knew he would have to if he wanted to keep her by his side. "Then hate me. Just know I can't change my decision…not even for you."

The dishes began to clatter at the weight of their bodies. "Kish," she pleaded. "Breakfast…"

"Later," he whispered huskily. He tasted her lips again hungrily. He had missed her for so long that he would not let her refuse, though he knew that she wouldn't even if she could. Her tears were mixed with a whirlwind of emotion. She hated this man for what he had done to her, what he had made her feel, what he would make her feel a thousand times over. And though she told herself at the beginning so many times that she never wanted this love, she could not deny his undying devotion. Oh how he confused her. She hated him so much sometimes she wished she could scream through his sweet kisses, and yet she could only respond in the same want.

A faint cry brought them back to their senses, and immediately Ichigo pushed Kish away feeling utterly embarrassed. The walls were thin in the kitchen and the guards were not far outside. She was sure they had heard everything. "Tot's waking up," she said quickly tending to fix the dishes back to where they were supposed to be.

Kish grunted, frustration etched in his voice, but he would not argue. He missed his son just as much as he missed his wife. "Tonight then…" he murmured.

Her face flushed a cherry red. She could see the small figure of their son begin to appear from the corner of her eye. "Daddy?" a soft voice murmured sleepily.

Kish gave Ichigo a quick kiss on the cheek and then turned to Tot. At three he was bigger than he remembered him but still so much small. He barely stood 2 feet high and had black hair like him, but his eyes were a deep red. His face was soft and feminine, like his mother's, but he hoped that he would grow out of it one day. The boy had a hard enough time dealing with the other children bullying him. If he wasn't careful, the boy would carve out his cheeks in his own tears.

He gave his boy a reassuring smile. "Hey, champ."

"Daddy!" Tot squealed and ran to his father's knee in excitement. "You're home!"

Kish laughed heartily and hoisted his son up. "Yeah I am. Heard you were being a brat for mommy. Now is that true?"

Tot began jutting out his outer lip. "I-I d-didn't-"

"Oh you leave him. You just came home. I'll have breakfast ready in a bit. You two prattle on somewhere else for now," Ichigo scolded. She tried to fight the reoccurring tears that welled up in her eyes and she went back to tending to breakfast. Everything she had come to love was under a shaky glass, ready to shatter at her feet. She heard the two chattering voices slowly leave the building, perhaps to take a walk. Ichigo sighed deeply unsure how she was to keep the two biggest pieces of herself from tearing each other apart.

* * *

**C&C appreciated. **

**Katea edited this for me so if there's a mistake blame her. = w=. Lmaojk babe.  
**

**Thanks for reading. Peace ;3  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. Sorry it took so long to update this. It took awhile to gather ideas on how to do this chapter, but I think I'm pretty satisfied with it. Again, forgive me from ripping away the canon story and replacing it with this darker theme. It's unfortunately one of my more favorite things to do. I'll try my best to update this more regularly as well as keep up with my FMA fic and RvB fic (which I'm working on chapters for both.) Again reviews and ideas always help an author keep motivated. Thanks for taking your time to read this.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The fifth Mew Mew. Now certainly that wouldn't be too hard to find. After all there wasn't much left to choose from in the slums of Roan. But miraculously after almost two weeks had passed, there was not a soul Mew to be found. Ryou was getting impatient. Their departure to Tarak was coming soon, and the would need the soul Mew Mew for his project to be a success. After a week, Zakuro and Mint had stopped looking, finding another way to waste their time. So Lettuce the meek and Pudding the rowdy were left to search the streets.

And there wasn't much of it left compared to what Aryk had. Most of the citizens had been driven to the countrysides of Japan and smaller cities surrounding it Tokyo, finding that alien-run city was not exactly the safest place for a human to be anymore. Roan was made up rows of poorly constructed shacks that weren't much more than a walled off protection from the elements and a few already established buildings, a police station, a small school, and a small hospital. It was a bigger city than most human hubs, as it actually had alley structures, and many other districts, but for the most part they were closed off and unsafe to venture into, as the infrastructure was falling to pieces from the original Cyniclon invasion. Roan was reduced down to simple people with only limited technology at their disposal. It was an extremely difficult adjustment, but they made due where they could.

The two Mew Mews knew they had to lay low, stay inconspicuous in order to survive this ordeal. The villagers were quick to report any suspicious activities. Even a whisper of rebelling meant death for the lips that suggested it. That what life was like in the slums of New Earth. Fear...Constant fear. This town and the world stank with it. No one in their right mind would dare question the Cyniclonians. Everybody left were forced accept it, with not much more of a choice than death. This reality showed on everyone's face.

"What's Ryou thinking," Lettuce murmured quietly. She peered out of town square which was no more than a man-made well in the middle of the market. She couldn't say it was such a terrible life, in-between the scuffles of peddlers and the buzz of a busy day, but it was all a facade made of paper-thin glass of security. It seemed calm not, but as soon as any Cyniclon stepped foot in the town, that security shattered in hopeless panic. "This is wrong. We won't find a fighter here."

"I'll say," Pudding yawned stretching. None of them were truly sure of what this job entailed. They figured that they would go to the busiest part of the bazaar and find a young girl that stood out, someone like them, someone with a fighting spirit. They plastered on smiles as the citizens greeted each other, but their eyes all looked the same- so hollow, so empty. But the same could even be said for the Mews. All of them had family they've left behind. Pudding had had four younger brothers and a sister whom she had to say goodbye to. But they all had to make the necessary sacrifices. To say the least, it had changed all of them. Pudding was fed up with every single one of them."Let's just nab one. One's as spineless as the rest."

"Pudding," Lettuce warned, she said shifting uncomfortably at the bench in front of the well. "We can get in trouble for that kind of thinking."

"Well it's that kind of thinking that'll get us somewhere," Pudding teased, wiggling in place next to her. "We need to come up with a better plan."

"I don't like this," Lettuce shook her head, biting her nails in worry. She was sure that Pudding was kidding, but sometimes, when this girl got ideas, you just had to use damage control to your advantage.

"Just play with me," the monkey-girl insisted, bouncing in place. "All we need to do is pick out some faces and see how they fit. Closest to Ichigo, we'll consider it. If there's really no match, after a couple of rounds, we'll go back to base." There was a dangerous gleam in her eye, and she was sure she was suggesting this out of impatience and the stress of their move soon.

"I don't really get the rules," Lettuce mumbled.

"It's easy," Pudding wiggled enthusiastically and pointed in a random direction. "Take bonnet-girl at the fish store." She examined the girl for a bit, crinkling her nose as she did so. The girl wasn't much older than herself, with dark black hair and dark eyes to match. She was pretty, but the way she argued with the peddler made her seem shrill and less fun to be with. "No way would she do. She looks too old to be injected. Besides she doesn't look the part at all."

"It's more than a look," Lettuce frowned. They weren't vanity heroes...or at least they weren't supposed to. Sure each of the girls were beautiful in their own way, but they each had their strengths as well...Or...maybe it was just Ryou's own vision that drove him to build a team filled with young impressionable girls. She frowned deeply. She hated to say it, but it sure sounded like Ryou to her. She looked through the crowd. "What about that girl?" Lettuce suggested at a quieter looking child reading a book outside the schoolyard. "She seems like a respectable enough."

"Boooo-ring," Pudding said exaggerating a yawn. "The soul Mew Mew. We have to be looking for something like Ichigo right? Don't think so."

They looked around some more, suggesting a girl here or a girl there, but both of them disagreed on what they thought the soul Mew Mew should be like. It kept coming back to the same things. Ichigo. Ichigo. They were looking for a girl like Ichigo...but...that just wasn't possible. What they needed wasn't some girl off the street...They needed Ichigo.

The monkey-girl leaned back yawning quite loudly. "Let's give up, too," Pudding finally announced, groaning in boredom. After a week of not knowing what to look for, they would hate to come back to Ryou and Keiichiro empty-handed, but there wasn't much they could do about it at this point. If Ryou really needed a soul Mew Mew that bad he could inject himself all over again.

` "I guess," Lettuce murmured. "No use sticking around here. We might have to look in Tarak after all."

They began to gather themselves up to return to base when a man's shouting made them pause. "Stop that boy!" a voice shouted. It belonged to a gruff man, who was knocking people over left and right. The boy was a little smaller than Pudding, with bright orange hair, and brown eyes. More than that, and he was fast- incredibly fast. He maneuvered through the crowd effortlessly while stuffing a piece of bread in his grubby mouth. "Stop him! He's a rebel! He's stealing food."

"Rebels?" Lettuce jolted on edge. "Here?"

The rebels were nomadic people that had learned to live in the rising forests of Aryk, causing terrorist attacks on any Cyniclon stronghold. Just like the Mew Mews, rebels were unwelcome visitors to any stationed town. If the Cyniclonians had caught wind of any uprisings, the whole town would pay, so it wasn't unusual for any sightings of rebels to end in immediate imprisonment and transferal to the Cyniclon troops where they would meet their fate. It seemed like a heartless thing to do, but it was better than attempting to convince the aliens that they had nothing to do with the attacks. It sure did make their job a lot easier though.

The boy darted right up to two girls and swooped around, nearly missing them while police and the victim trailed after him. Pudding looked wide eyed at the determination in his face. His eyes weren't hollow like the rest of the town was. There was fear, but there was life there as well, and suddenly she knew-

This boy was it.

She didn't need much more convincing than that. Pudding looked at Lettuce with a broad grin on her face and with a nod took off after him as well.

"Pudding!" Lettuce cried, running after the monkey-girl. "What do you think you're doing!" she cried out. The mer-girl tried to keep up with her, but found that she was already breathing heavily from the exercise. Speed was just not her strong suit.

"He's it," Pudding insisted, but that was all she could say with everybody around. She had to catch him before the police did. Lettuce was a deadweight and she couldn't wait up for her. "I'll explain! Just call Ryou!"

Lettuce's heavy footsteps seized to a stop as she looked at the disappearing crowd in confusion. She knew Pudding was having one of her crazy ideas again, but at this point she didn't even want to question her. Taking out what looked like a tiny green cell phone, she dialed a number, and signaled Ryou.

* * *

'Huff...huff...huff," Mango wheezed as he darted through the city. It was just like they said... easy. He still couldn't quite get over the anger of the mob as they rushed into capture him. It was absolutely terrifying but he had made it. It shouldn't have surprised him. Mango was the fastest runner in the camp easily. He was coming of age soon, so to prove himself he had to contribute by making food runs in the cowardly villages that had turned away from their humanity. It was a simple job really. Get in, gather food, get out. It would've been best if he wasn't caught at all, but he slipped up in his nervousness. He was able to get a couple blocks ahead before ditching the group in an alley. Like they said, for him, it would be easy enough.

He cried out in a stumble, dropping even more food. This wasn't good. He'd lost so much of the supplies in the run. They'd yell at him for this. He stopped, taking a few moments to brush off the bread and ham that was on the floor, catching his breath as he did. The eggs and milk were a lost cause. He knew that, and was warned against it, but he couldn't help but wish for a fresh meal. His lungs were burning in the effort and his limbs were heavy, but most of the commotion he could hear was at least a couple hundred yards away. He figured he could stop for at least a few moments.

Brushing himself off, he repositioned the bags. He'd have to find the back way out of the city, but it was bigger than most traverses they had ventured into. He'd actually gotten lost. He looked around, but nothing but the random piles of destruction gave him any clue to where he was.

A flash of yellow, almost inhumanly fast, was approaching him. It took awhile for his eyes to adjust, but he yelped to find that his pursuer was actually coming from the rooftops. Somebody actually followed him? There was no way!

"Shit!" he cried, almost dropping the supplies again. He scrambled, and continued down the alleys, unsure what led to a dead end and what didn't. Something urged his legs to run faster, for whatever followed his couldn't have been normal...or in this day and age human.

He continued to run, but found he backed himself into a dead end. He turned around down another street to find himself at another dead end. The sound of a giggle filled the air over the clamoring townspeople. "You done, yet?"

He squinted his eyes trying to see her in the blaring sun, but it was no use. He couldn't even make out the shape of who the voice belonged to. "Who are you?" Mango cried out, clutching the bags protectively. She jumped down quickly and gracefully. Skills like that seemed to belong to the rebels, but he had never heard of her.

"Quiet, you," the girl stood up with a deep frown on her face. She had bright yellow hair and honey-brown eyes, and stood only a few inches taller than him. She appeared to be at least 17, but the look on her face made her appear much younger than she was. "Do you want the townspeople to catch you?"

"'Course not," the boy frowned lowering his voice considerably. This time he would ask in curiosity. If she didn't want the townspeople to find him, maybe she wasn't that bad. "You with the rebels?"

She thought about this for a bit. "Not exactly, but you can say that." She tried to think of a way to word her answer, but she couldn't find one that wouldn't make him immediately freak out. "Look, there's no easy way to explain this, but I'mma need you to come with me, alright?"

The boy took an unconscious step back, not liking the tone of her voice. "Not 'til you answer my questions," Mango stood up straighter and taller, trying to look tougher than he was. There was no doubt about it, he was a shrimp, but she wasn't too big herself. He was sure he could take her.

She giggled again, making him shrink back down in embarassment. "I don't think you understand the situation," she explained, a little more sure of herself. She knew it. He was it. "You _are_ coming with me." He had more spirit in a person than she had seen in ages, but she would expect that of a rebel. There was no way she would take no for an answer.

That's when he saw it, a Mew mark glowing on the top of her forehead that looked like two monkey tails intertwining. It couldn't be! She was a Mew...

"To hell I will!" Mango cried out, dropping all of his bags and pushed past her, which seemed easy enough. She was light enough to push away, but he only managed to make a few steps before she cut him off, seeming to bounce off the walls, and landed on top of him, effectively tackling him.

Two monkey ears and a tail had appeared right before his eyes, and he watched them both twitch with agitation. "Don't go making this hard on me now. We're not gonna hurt you...I think." Pudding took another moment to consider this as well. At least she didn't remember it hurting.

He couldn't believe it. She was so heavy and as much as he yelped and screamed he couldn't squirm free. "I'll tell!" he told her. "If you don't let me go, I'll tell about you being a Mew Mew, you hear!"

"Well why would you do that?" Pudding pouted, kicking him in the side with her foot as an answer. Huffing in anger, she took out what appeared to be a cell phone and dialed a number, but instead of calling, it flashed a bright yellow on the screen. "Now if you'll be quiet, Ryou will be here soon to pick you up."

"Ry-who-. I told ya lady, I'm not going with you," Mango yelled and squirmed, trying desperately to break free.

Suddenly the voices clamoring crowd's voices began to get more distinct. "Hey, I think I heard something over here."

Mango saw his chance. "Hey, over here! Help augh-"

It all happened too fast to make sense. The crowd, hearing the noise, rushed around the corner. They came ready to capture that little rebel only to find Pudding patting herself off nervously.

That was strange. They were sure they had heard a noise and they looked each other trying to make sense of it.

"Hey, Mina, when'd you get here?" a man she recognized as the Police Chief asked.

Pudding resisted looking up as she raced to find a good story. "I heard...that the rebel came past here. I...managed to nab the food," she said quickly pointing at the ground, "but unfortunately he got away 'round the other corner. It's a good thing you came in time. He was more than I could handle. You just missed him."

"My groceries!" a man cried out bursting through the crowd. In agitation he dropped to his knees, trying to pick up what little was left. The others looked at each other with varying looks of concern.

"Damn," the police chief muttered. "Well, we'll have to keep a lookout for the rest of them. That was reckless young lady. You could have gotten killed chasing after men like that. You should leave that kind of work to us next time, ok?"

Pudding pretended to take it into consideration and nodded. "Sorry, sir. Just thought I could help."

The police chief grunted in a response. He turned to the crowd of officers and other men. "Move out," he commanded. "We'll need to set up a perimeter around the town. You can bet the rebels will be back."

After the man had gathered his groceries and the crowd has dispersed, Pudding breathed in a huge sigh of relief as her monkey-ears popped back up, still agitated. She leaped up to the rooftop to see the damage done, hoping that it wasn't too serious.

Pudding frowned deeply at the boy, On further inspection she found she had, at least, hadn't killed him, but he would sport a large lump on top of his head for at least the next couple of days. The rooftop hinges had scraped his legs and arms, but there wasn't anything more serious than that. Other than the slight twitching of his leg, he was officially out cold. He held up pretty well for such a hard kick.

"Well," she muttered to herself. "That solves that problem."

"Pudding?" Lettuce's voice called after awhile from below. She looked around in confusion then back at her phone nervously, wandering aimlessly. "Funny...I'm sure the signal, says she's here."

The monkey-girl peered over the edge of the roof with a wide grin. "Finally! Did Ryou get the signal?"

"Right here," the man came from around the corner not trailing far behind Lettuce. He was obviously peeved by the huge crowd that Pudding had attracted, but they were gone now, busy setting up another perimeter to ward off a rebel attack. They wouldn't venture here, but they would have to be quick to be sure. "Not very inconspicuous, ladies," he grumbled.

"Well you'll be happy." Pudding cried out. She returned to the boy, only to pick him up again. He was light for his size. With a shrug she peered down at Lettuce once again. "Here, catch him."

"Wha-" Lettuce's arms stuck out automatically, and falling to the ground, she managed to catch him...barely. "Pudding you, nut," she groaned in pain. "You could've killed me."

Pudding giggled bouncing down back into the alleyway. It was frustrating for Lettuce. She wasn't quite as acrobatic as the other girls naturally were. In fact she was hardly usable in her own element. It seemed she was only useful once she was able to transform into a Mew, which was frustrating to say the least.

Without much more discussion, Ryou removed the boy from her lap, noticing the difference immediately.

"You chose a male child?" Ryou asked in surprise. "Unconventional..."

"It shouldn't be a problem," Pudding piped up confidently. "After all, the injection worked on you. Makes me wonder why you didn't just volunteer yourself up, big man."

"Isn't it obvious?" Ryou spat back. "If the experiment went wrong, there would be no one else to finish it. That would be selfish."

Both Lettuce and Pudding rolled their eyes at his answer.

Ryou continued to inspect the boy. "Well he's healthy enough, but there's a fifty-fifty chance his body will reject the DNA. You sure you want to do this to him?"

"Do we have a choice?" Pudding told him, crossing his arms. "He's a rebel. He'll hold up a much better fight than anyone in Roan would."

"A rebel?" Ryou asked, questions raising in his eyes. "You expect me to take this child in as a rebel?"

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Pudding and Ryou locked eyes, glaring at each other for a moment, leaving Lettuce nothing to do but sweat in nervousness until their staring contest was done. She didn't understand Pudding's thinking at all. This 'boy' was nothing like Ichigo at all. What drove her to choose him?

Finally Ryou lowered his eyes back to the boy. "You're right. We can't afford to waste time here." He picked up the boy, gingerly, in his arms. "It'll be on your conscience if this kills him."

* * *

**And so now I've introduced my first OC Mango. I have a pretty clear idea in my head of how I see him but there are still things that I'm not sure about, like what animal they'll inject him with. I'm going to have fun with his magical girl transformation XD. Anyways thanks for reading. C&C appreciated. **


End file.
